British Columbia students hold rally in support of JNU students

Braving cold weather and chilly wind, students and faculty members at the University of British Columbia held demonstration in support of JNU students on Wednesday.

Braving cold weather and chilly wind, students and faculty members of the University of British Columbia (UBC) held a demonstration on Wednesday to show solidarity with students of JNU, New Delhi, arrested on charges of sedition.

Ajay Bhardwaj, a PhD scholar at UBC who organised the rally, said the rally was organised to seek international support for the arrested students.

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Carrying placards and banners, the participants marched briefly near the students’ union building as Bhardwaj urged the participants to sign a petition in support of the JNU students.

He told HT: “Kanhaiya Kumar might have received interim bail, but the struggle will go on until all students arrested in India for sedition are freed.”

Kanhaiya was granted bail by a Delhi court on Wednesday.

Read| JNU student leader Kanhaiya gets 6 months bail in sedition case

Bhardwaj, who has directed documentaries on caste-based oppression, feels the JNU episode was result of fight that began with the suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student at Hyderabad University.

Others present at the rally included prominent Punjabi author Sukhwant Hundal.

Also, students and faculty members of Simon Fraser University launched a petition seeking the revocation of sedition charges against Kanhaiya and other JNU students. The online petition has so far received close to 200 signatures.

On February 21, former students of universities and colleges in Punjab had also staged a demonstration in Surrey to show support to JNU students.